Toy building. block



6 1924. I v J. E. FISHER TOY BUILDING BLOCK Filed April 4. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 v wmjifiori my.

a 1,4925% J. E. FlSHER I .TQY BUILDING BLOCK ,Filed April 4. 1921 May a 1924. J. E. FISHER TOY BUILDING BLOCK Filed April 4. 1921 3 Sheets-Sheet V3 Patented May 6, 1924.

1,492,560 PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN E. SEER, F GRAND RAPIDS, MICHIGAN, ASSIGNQR OI ONE-HALF TO CLAUD I;

BUILD, 01 GRAND RAPIDS, IIOHIGAN.

TOY BUILDING- BLOCK.

a ncazanniea. April 4,1921. 3611811). 458,312.

To all whom it may consent: 1

Be it known that 1, JOHN E. Fisnnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grand Rapids, in the'county of Kent and State of Michigan, have invented new and useful Improvements in Toy Building Blocks, of which the following is a specification.

The present invention relates to toy building blocks; and its object is to provide devices of that character which may be readily and securely assembled to form toy houses and the like of various shapes and sizes, and which may be as readily disassembled.

This object is attained by, and the invention finds preferable embodiment in, the blocks or members which, together with illustrative examples of their assembling, are hereinafter particularly described and illustrated by the accompanying drawings, in which Figure 1 is an outside view in rspective of a portion of a toy house for-me by assembling my building blocks;

Flgure 2 is an insideview of the same;

Figure 3 is a view of the roof portion of the toy house, the roof members or plates being shown in vertical section;

Figure 4 is a view of a door for the toy house and the doors mounting;

Figure 5 is a top plan view of meeting rafter members of a toy house or tower;

Figure 6 is a side view thereof;

Figure 7 is an upper end view of such a rafter member;

Figure 8 is'a. side view of the same;

Figure 9 is a view in erspective of forms of beam members partia y assembled;

Fi re 10 is a side view of one of the beam mem ers seen in Figure 9 and a cross sectional view of the other two beam members taken on a vertical plane corresponding to line 10-10 of Figure 9, the three beam members being completely assembled in this view;

Figure 11 is a top plan view of one of said beam members;

Figure 12 is a view of another form of the beam members, two of which form of membars are shown in that relative position in which they are about to be moved together to assemble them;

Fi are 13 is a view of one of the beam mem ers seen in Figure 12 but turned to another position;

Figure 14 is a side view of another form 0t beam member together with end views of such members as are shown in Figures 12 and 13' (sectioned on lines 14-44 of said figures) in position about to be assembled;

Figure 15 is a view in pers ective of a st member or block, the mi dle portion ing broken away;

Figure 16 is a view in perspective of a filler member or block;

Figure 17 is an edgewise view of the same;

Figure 18 is a view in. perspective of a plate member or block;

Figure 19 is an end view of the same;

Figure 20 is a sectional view of a part thereof taken on a horizontal plane corresponding to line 20-20 of Figure 19,; and

Figure 21 is a plan view showing one of the post members and two plate members connected thereto, the post member being shown in horizontal section.

In the embodiments of the invention chosen for illustration by the drawings and for detailed description in the body of this specification, the post members or blocks 1 have 80 vertically extending sockets 2 in their ends andhave means, preferably the grooves 3 extending in the longitudinal direction of the osts, for detachably connecting the ends of t e plate members or blocks 4 to the sides of the posts. These plates may be provided with tongues 5 at their ends of less thickness than the body of the plates which tonguesare inserted into the grooves of a pair of posts between which the plates are positioned and thus held. The posts are desirably of a len h registering with the vertical width of a p urality (two in the construction illustrated) of the plates. These plates are usually of the rectangular form seen in Figure 18, but modifications thereof may be employed, as the triangular plates 6 for the gable ends of a toy house as seen in- Figures 1, 2, and 3. Some of the plates may have notches 7 in their lower or u per edges X00 whereby windows may be provi ed, as seen in Figures 1 and 2.

The posts are connected at their tops or. bottoms (or both) by horizontally disposed beam members or blocks'having orifices 9 105 in their end portions, through which pins 10 ma be removably thrust into the sockets 2 of the poststo bind the beams, posts and plates securely in assembled position; and posts placed end to end are connected by such no neeaeeo a pin thrust into the sockets of their abutting ends. These beams ma be of various forms whereby diderent com inations of the assembled blocks may be made. A usual form 11 of such beams is particularly shown in Fi ures 12 and 13. In this form the beam has s oulders 12, 13 ad'acent its ends respectively and end portions extending beyond said shoulders, one end portion l l thus extending from an upper part, as the upper third, of the cross section of the body portion of the beam (as seen in Fi are 13) the other end portion 15 extending rom a lower part, as the third next below said upper; part or third, said end portions having the vertically extending orifices 9 therethrough. The same form of beam but turned half way around on its longitudinal axis is seen in Figure 12. The other part or third of the cross section of the body of the beam 11 may be filled by a square filler member or block 16 seen in Figures 16 and 17 having a pin-receiving orifice 17 therethrough.

It will be seen that the abutting of the s uare end portions of adjacent beams, w ether aligned or at right angles to each other in the assembled and pinned-together position of the beams, prevents them from turning on the pins axis relatively to each other.

Another form of beam 18 is seen in Fi are 14: having the end portions 19 exten ing from the same-the lower-third of the cross section of the beams body portion; and another form of beam 20 is seen in Figures 9, 10 and 11, which beam is of double length and has at its middle a transverse recess 21 thereacross extendin for a distance of two thirds of the vertica thiclmess of the beam, with a vertically extending orifice 22 through the bottom of the recess: Beams of form 11 shown in Figures 12 and 13 may be combined with this beam 20 in the manner indicated in Figures 9 and 10 to form the meeting corners of four rooms in the toy house.

A re member 25 having grooves 3 in its opposite sides receiving the plates 4 may be employed to form the roof of the toy house. Such a rafter inclined in a vertical plane has a vertically extending orifice 26 receiving a. pin 10. carried in the socket in the upper ended a post, and is thereby secured in place. The upper end of the rafter may have its opposite sides 27, 28 inclined toward each ot er and lying in vertical planes meeting at the central longitudinal lane of the rafter, as particularly shown in Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8, whereby atower having four sloping roof portions meeting at the towers center may be formed. A door 30 may be provided between posts and having sockets 31 in its upper and lower edges turnablg receiving pins 33 whose other ends are hel in sockets 34 in upper and lower beams, as seen in Figure 4. It is manifest that many combinations 0% the blocks or members may be made, examples being shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3.

The invention being intended to bepointed out in the claims, is not to be limited to or by details of construction of the particular embodiment or embodiments thereof illustrated by the drawings or hereinbefore described.

I claim:

1. In devices of the character descri; a post having a socket in its end; beams, each having shoulders adjacent its ends respectively. and end portions extending beyond said shoulders, one end portion. thus extending from the upper third of the cross section of the body portion of the beam and the other end portion extending from that third of the cross section ofsaid body rtion which is next below said upper third, said end portions having verticaag extending orifices therethrough; a in apted to be removably thrust throng said orifices and into said socket; plates adapted to be detachabl connected at their ends to the sides of t e est.

2. In devices of the character described; a post having a socket in its end; a beam having a transverse recess endin twothirds of the vertical thickness of sai beam and having a vertically extending orifice through the bottom of the recess; a pair of beams each having a shoulder adjacent an end thereof and an end portion extending beyond said shoulder, the end portion of one beam of said pair extending from the upper third of the cross section of its beam and the end portion of the other beam of said pair extending from that third of the cross section of its beam which is next below the upper third thereof, said end portions ct said pair of mama having vertically extending orifices therethrough; a pin adapted to be thrust through all said orifices and into said socket.

3. in devices of the character described; plates; rafters inclined in vertical planes and having grooves in their opposite sides extending in their longitudinal direction adapted to removably receive and hold the ends of the plates, the upper end of each of the rafters having oppositely dis sed sides inclined toward each other and fying in vertical planes meeting in the middle longitudinal vertical plane of the rafters respectively. A

a. In devices of the character described; a post having a socket in its end; a beam having a transverse recess extending for a rtion of the vertical thickness of said '1 am and having a verticall extending orifioe through the bottom of t e recess; a pair of beams each having a shoulder adjacent an end thereof and an end portion extending beyond said shoulder, said endv rtions having vertically extending ori ces therethrough and being offset from each other and from that portion of the first mentioned beam which is below its recess; a pin adapted to be thrust through all said orifices and into said socket.

5. In devices of the character described; plates; three or more rafters inclined in vertical planes and having grooves in their opposlte sides extending in their longitudinal direction adapted to removably receive and hold the ends of :the plates, the upper end of each of the rafters having op ositely disposed sides inclined toward eac other 1 and lying in vertical planes, whereby the rafters upper ends are adapted to meet and form a peak.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand at Grand Rapids, Michigan, this 0 2nd day of April, 1921.

JOHN E. FISHER. 

